TWI550948B - Distributed ring speaker housing antenna - Google Patents

Description

Distributed ring speaker housing antenna

The present application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. Serial No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

The large system of the present invention relates to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices having antennas.

Electronic devices often have antennas. A problem can arise when mounting the antenna in an electronic device. For example, factors such as the relative position of the antenna to the surrounding device structure and electrical components, as well as factors such as the size and shape of the antenna structure, can have an impact on antenna tuning and bandwidth. If not careful, the antenna can become out of tune, or can exhibit poor low efficiency bandwidth at the desired operating frequency. Therefore, it would be desirable to be able to provide an improved antenna for use in an electronic device.

An electronic device can be provided with an antenna structure. The antenna structure can be formed using a dielectric carrier structure such as a hollow plastic speaker housing, thereby allowing the volume occupied by the speaker housing in the interior of the device to be used as part of the antenna. The speaker driver can be mounted in the speaker enclosure. An opening in the speaker housing can be used to allow sound from the speaker driver to be emitted from the speaker housing.

The antenna structures can have first and second loop antenna resonating elements. The loop antenna resonating elements can be self-contained from the speaker housing (and metal housing for electronics if desired) The metal traces on the part) are formed.

The first loop antenna resonating element can indirectly feed the second loop antenna resonating element. The second loop antenna resonating element can be formed from a metal strip forming a ring around the speaker housing. A gap in the strip of metal may form a capacitor in the second loop antenna resonating element. An inductor may also be formed in the second loop antenna resonating element. The opening in the second loop antenna resonating element can be aligned with the speaker housing opening. The metal segments between the openings in the second loop antenna resonating element may collectively form the inductance for the second loop antenna resonating element.

The electronics housing can have openings aligned with the speaker housing openings and the openings in the second loop antenna resonating element.

Other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of the appended claims.

10‧‧‧Electronic devices/devices

12‧‧‧Shell/Metal Housing

12A‧‧‧Upper casing

12B‧‧‧ Lower housing

14‧‧‧ display

16‧‧‧ keyboard

18‧‧‧ Trackpad

20‧‧‧Hinged structure

22‧‧‧ Direction

24‧‧‧Rotation axis

26‧‧‧ button

27‧‧‧ bracket

28‧‧‧Speaker埠

29‧‧‧Control circuit

30‧‧‧Input and output circuits

32‧‧‧Communication circuit

34‧‧‧Input and output devices

36‧‧‧Sensor and status indicator

38‧‧‧Audio components

40‧‧‧Input and output components

100‧‧‧RF Transceiver Circuit/Circuit/Transceiver Circuit

102‧‧‧Antenna structure/loop antenna structure/feed antenna/distributed loop antenna structure

104‧‧‧Signal Path/Transmission Line

106‧‧‧Line/Positive Transmission Line Conductor

108‧‧‧Wire/ground transmission line conductor

110‧‧‧Positive antenna feed terminals

112‧‧‧Ground antenna feed terminal

114‧‧‧Conductor/Conductive Structure/Metal Trace/Antenna Resonant Element Loop Trace/Trace

115‧‧‧ cavity sidewall / antenna cavity

116‧‧‧Conductor/Conductive Structure/Conductive Material/Metal Trace/Trace/Ring Antenna Trace

116E‧‧‧ Section

118‧‧‧Electromagnetic field

120‧‧‧Axis/longitudinal axis

122‧‧‧Dummy curve

124‧‧ ‧ virtual point curve

126‧‧‧ Curve

128‧‧‧Speaker Driver/Driver

130‧‧‧Shell

132‧‧‧Speaker Driver埠

134‧‧‧ terminals

136‧‧‧ terminals

138‧‧‧Wire

140‧‧‧Wire

142‧‧‧Audio Amplifier

144‧‧‧ input

146‧‧‧Coating/Insulation Coating

150‧‧‧Dielectric carrier/housing/speaker housing

152‧‧‧ area

154‧‧‧ Area

160‧‧‧ edge

162‧‧‧ edge

164‧‧‧ Current

166‧‧‧current/antenna current

168‧‧‧ openings/metal trace openings/groove trace openings

170‧‧‧Speaker housing opening / rectangular slot opening / housing opening / opening

172‧‧‧frag

174‧‧‧Display cover

176‧‧‧Display Module/Display Structure

178‧‧‧Opacity mask

180‧‧‧ Opening / housing opening / speaker opening / housing speaker opening

182‧‧‧ Part / curved wall

184‧‧‧ wall section

186‧‧‧Electrically conductive structure/structure

188‧‧‧ notch

190‧‧‧ edge

C‧‧‧ capacitor

IA‧‧‧Inactive Display Border Area

L‧‧‧Inductance

L1‧‧‧First loop antenna resonating element / loop antenna resonating element / antenna element / loop antenna resonance ring / antenna resonating element / antenna resonating element ring / ring / Loop antenna / ring element

L2‧‧‧Second loop antenna resonating element/loop antenna resonating element/loop antenna resonating element/antenna resonating element/ring/resonant element ring/antenna ring/antenna element/antenna resonating element ring

P‧‧‧ perimeter / relatively small size / perimeter

1 is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device (such as a laptop) that may be provided with an antenna structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device (such as a handheld electronic device) that may be provided with an antenna structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device (such as a tablet) that may be provided with an antenna structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device (such as a computer display with an integrated computer) that may be provided with an antenna structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device having an antenna structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency transceiver circuit and an antenna structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram of an illustrative loop antenna structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a graph of antenna performance as a function of operating frequency for an illustrative antenna of the type shown in FIG. 7, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a perspective view of an illustrative speaker driver in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative speaker driver showing the manner in which the speaker driver housing can be coated with an insulative coating, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a top plan view of an illustrative speaker enclosure of one type that can be used as an antenna carrier in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a perspective view of an illustrative distributed loop antenna formed using conductive traces on a dielectric antenna carrier, such as a speaker box, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative antenna mounted within an electronics housing, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a perspective view of a portion of an electronic device showing the manner in which an electronic device can have a housing with a speaker aperture, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a perspective view of a portion of an electronic device showing the manner in which an electronic device can have a housing with a slotted speaker opening, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

16 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an electronic device showing the manner in which an antenna structure in an electronic device can be mounted, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

17 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an electronic device having an antenna structure having a recessed portion to house an electronic component such as a display module, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The electronic device can include an antenna. Antennas can be used to transmit and receive wireless signals. Illustrative electronic devices that can be provided with antennas are shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4.

1 shows a manner in which the electronic device 10 can have the shape of a laptop having an upper housing 12A and a lower housing 12B, such as a keyboard 16 And components of the touchpad 18. The device 10 can have a hinge structure 20 that allows the upper housing 12A to rotate in a direction 22 about the axis of rotation 24 relative to the lower housing 12B. The display 14 can be mounted in the upper housing 12A. The upper housing 12A can be placed in the closed position by rotating the upper housing 12A (which may sometimes be referred to as a display housing or cover) about the axis of rotation 24 toward the lower housing 12B. The antenna structure can be mounted along the upper edge of the upper housing 12A below the display cover layer associated with the display 14 or elsewhere in the device 10.

2 shows the manner in which electronic device 10 can be a handheld device such as a cellular phone, music player, gaming device, navigation unit, or other compact device. In this type of configuration for device 10, housing 12 can have opposing front and back surfaces. The display 14 can be mounted to the front face of the housing 12. Display 14 may have a display cover layer or other outer layer for openings such as the components of button 26, if desired. Openings may also be formed in the display cover layer or other display layers to accommodate the speaker cassettes (see, for example, the speaker cassette 28 of FIG. 2). The antenna structure can be mounted below the inactive peripheral portion of the display cover layer for display 14 or elsewhere in housing 12 of FIG.

3 shows the manner in which electronic device 10 can be a tablet. In the electronic device 10 of FIG. 3, the housing 12 can have opposing flat front and back surfaces. The display 14 can be mounted on the front surface of the housing 12. As shown in FIG. 3, display 14 can have a display cover layer or other outer layer having openings to accommodate button 26 (as an example). The antenna structure can be mounted below one of the peripheral edges of the display cover layer or elsewhere in the device 10.

4 shows the manner in which electronic device 10 can be a computer display or a computer that has been integrated into a computer display. With this type of configuration, the housing 12 for the device 10 can be mounted to a support structure such as the bracket 27. The display 14 can be mounted to the front face of the housing 12. Display 14 can have a display cover layer if desired. The antenna structure for device 10 of Figure 4 can be mounted below one or more of the peripheral edges of the display cover layer or elsewhere in device 10.

The illustrative configurations of device 10 shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 are merely illustrative. In general, the electronic device 10 can be: a laptop computer; an electric device with an embedded computer Brain monitor; tablet; cellular phone; media player; or other handheld or portable electronic device; smaller device such as wristwatch device, pendant device, headset or earphone device or other wearable Or a small device; a television; a computer display that does not include an embedded computer; a gaming device; a navigation device; an in-line system, such as a system in which an electronic device having a display is installed in a kiosk or a car; Functional devices of two or more; or other electronic devices.

The housing 12 of the device 10 (which is sometimes referred to as a shell) may be made of, for example, plastic, glass, ceramic, carbon fiber composites, and other fiber-based composites, metals (eg, machined aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals). ), other materials or materials of a combination of such materials are formed. Device 10 may be formed using a single or multiple of housing 12 formed from a single structural component (eg, a machined metal or a molded plastic), or may be from multiple housing configurations (eg, Formed to an outer housing structure that is mounted to an internal frame member or other internal housing structure. In configurations where the housing 12 is formed from a metal or other electrically conductive material, a dielectric structure such as a plastic structure can be used to form some or all of the antenna windows that overlap the antenna structures in the device 10. The antenna structure in device 10 can also be configured to transmit and receive RF antenna signals via the display cover layer and other dielectric structures in device 10.

Display 14 can be a touch sensitive display that includes a touch sensor or can be insensitive to touch. The touch sensor for the display 14 can be formed from: an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes; a resistive touch array; based on acoustic touch, optical touch or force-based touch Technical touch sensor structure; or other suitable touch sensor components.

In general, the display for device 10 can include image pixels formed from: light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs), plasma batteries, electrowetting pixels, electrophoretic pixels, liquid crystal displays ( LCD) component or other suitable image pixel structure.

The display cover layer can cover the surface of the display 14, or a display layer such as a color filter layer or other portion of the display can be used as the outermost (or almost the most External) layer. The display cover layer or other external display layer can be formed from a transparent glass sheet, a clear plastic layer, or other transparent member.

A touch sensor assembly, such as an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes formed from a transparent material such as indium tin oxide, can be formed on the bottom surface of the display cover layer and can be formed, for example, in a glass or polymer touch The separate display layers of the detector substrate may be integrated into other display layers (eg, substrate layers such as thin film transistor layers).

A schematic diagram that can be used for an illustrative configuration of an electronic device 10 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, electronic device 10 can include control circuitry 29. Control circuit 29 can include a memory and processing circuitry for controlling the operation of device 10. For example, control circuitry 29 may include, for example, a hard disk drive storage, non-volatile memory (eg, flash memory, or other electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid state disk drive), A storage of volatile memory (eg, static or dynamic random access memory). Control circuitry 29 may include processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio codec chips, special application integrated circuits, and the like.

Control circuitry 29 can be used to execute software on device 10, such as operating system software and application software. Using this software, the control circuit 29 can use the speaker and other audio circuits to present audio information to the user of the device 10. The antenna structure and the radio frequency transceiver circuit can be used to transmit and receive wireless signals, and the operation of the device 10 can be controlled in other manners. .

Input and output circuitry 30 may be used to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and may be used to allow data to be provided from device 10 to an external device. Input and output circuit 30 can include communication circuitry 32. Communication circuitry 32 may include wired communication circuitry for supporting communication using data in device 10. Communication circuitry 32 may also include wireless communication circuitry (e.g., circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless radio frequency signals using an antenna).

The input and output circuit 30 can also include an input and output device 34. The user can control the operation of device 10 by supplying commands via input and output device 34, and can receive status information and other outputs from device 10 using the output resources of input and output device 34.

Input and output device 34 may include sensors such as ambient light sensors, proximity sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, magnetic sensors, accelerometers, and light-emitting diodes, and status indicators 36, And for collecting information about the environment in which the device 10 is operating and providing information about the state of the device 10 to other components of the user of the device 10.

The audio component 38 can include a speaker and tone generator for presenting sound to the user of the device 10, and a microphone for collecting user audio input.

Display 14 can be used to present images to the user, such as text, video, and still images. The sensor 36 can include a touch sensor array formed as one of the layers in the display 14.

User inputs may be collected using buttons and other input and output components 40 such as: touchpad sensors, buttons, joysticks, click-to-rolls, scroll wheels, such as sensors 36 in display 14. Touch sensors, keypads, keyboards, vibrators, cameras, and other input and output components.

As shown in FIG. 6, communication circuitry 32 may include wireless communication circuitry, such as radio frequency transceiver circuitry 100 and antenna structure 102. Communication circuitry 32 may include wireless circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuitry, power amplifier circuitry, low noise input amplifiers, passive radio frequency components, one or more antennas such as antenna structure 102, and for disposal Other circuits for RF wireless signals.

Communication circuitry 32 may include radio frequency transceiver circuitry for handling a plurality of radio frequency communication bands. For example, transceiver circuit 100 can include circuitry for handling cellular telephone communications, wireless local area network signals, and satellite navigation system signals, such as signals at 1575 MHz from satellites associated with global positioning systems. The transceiver circuit 100 can handle the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for WiFi ^® (IEEE 802.11) communications and can handle the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth ^® communication band. Circuitry 100 can include a cellular telephone transceiver circuit for handling wireless communications in a cellular telephone band, such as in the frequency band in the range of 700 MHz to 2.7 GHz (as an example).

Communication circuitry 32 may include wireless circuitry for other short-range and long-range wireless links, if desired. For example, circuitry 32 may include wireless circuitry, paging circuitry, etc. for receiving radio and television signals. In WiFi ^® and Bluetooth ^® links and other short-range wireless links, wireless signals are typically used to span tens or hundreds of feet transmit data. In cellular telephone links and other long-haul links, wireless signals are typically used to transmit data across thousands of miles or miles.

Communication circuit 32 can include an antenna structure 102. Antenna structure 102 can include one or more antennas. Antenna structure 102 may include an inverted F antenna, a patch antenna, a loop antenna, a monopole, a dipole, a single band antenna, a dual band antenna, an antenna covering more than two frequency bands, or other suitable antenna. The configuration of forming at least one antenna in device 10 using a loop antenna structure is sometimes described herein as an example.

To provide the antenna structure 102 with the ability to cover the communication frequency of interest, the antenna structure 102 can have, if desired, a tunable circuit controlled by the control circuit 29. For example, control circuit 29 may supply control signals to tunable circuits in antenna structure 102 during operation of device 10 whenever it is desired to tune antenna structure 102 to cover a desired communication band.

Transceiver circuit 100 can be coupled to antenna structure 102 by a signal path, such as signal path 104. Signal path 104 can include one or more transmission lines. As an example, signal path 104 of FIG. 6 can be a transmission line having a positive signal conductor such as line 106 and a ground signal conductor such as line 108. Lines 106 and 108 may form part of a coaxial cable or microstrip transmission having an impedance of 50 ohms (as an example). A matching network formed from, for example, inductors, resistors, and capacitors can be used to match the impedance of the antenna structure 102 to the impedance of the transmission line 104. The matching network components can be provided as discrete components (eg, surface mount technology components) or can be formed from housing structures, printed circuit board structures, traces on plastic supports, and the like.

Transmission line 104 can be coupled to an antenna feed structure associated with antenna structure 102. As an example, the antenna structure 102 can form an antenna with an antenna feed, the antenna feed There are positive antenna feed terminals such as terminal 110 and ground antenna feed terminals such as ground antenna feed terminals 112. The positive transmission line conductor 106 can be coupled to the positive antenna feed terminal 110 and the ground transmission line conductor 108 can be coupled to the ground antenna feed terminal 112. Other types of antenna feed configurations can be used if desired. The illustrative feed configuration of Figure 6 is merely illustrative.

The antenna structure 102 can be formed from a metal trace supported by a dielectric carrier or other patterned conductive material. With a suitable configuration, the antenna structure 102 can be based on a loop antenna structure. For example, the antenna structure 102 can include a strip of electrically conductive material wound into a loop. Because the strip of electrically conductive material has an associated width of material distributed across it, a loop antenna structure such as this may sometimes be referred to as a distributed loop antenna structure. The distributed loop antenna can be fed using a direct feed configuration such that the feed terminals of terminals 110 and 112 are directly coupled to the strip of material forming the loop, by using near field electromagnetic coupling to feed the loop antenna or other The components are coupled to indirectly from a loop formed by the strip of material, or may be fed using other suitable feed configurations.

A schematic diagram of a distributed loop antenna of the type useful in the electronic device 10 of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, a distributed loop antenna structure 102 (sometimes referred to as a distributed loop antenna 102) may include a first loop antenna resonating element L1 formed from a conductor loop such as one of the conductors 114; A two-loop antenna resonating element L2 (distributed ring element) formed from a conductor loop such as one of the conductors 116.

As shown in FIG. 7, the loop antenna resonating element L2 can be indirectly fed using the loop antenna resonating element L1 serving as an indirect antenna feed structure. As illustrated by the electromagnetic field 118 of FIG. 7, the antenna element (feed element) L1 and the loop antenna resonating element L2 can be coupled using near field electromagnetic coupling.

The antenna structure 102 of FIG. 7 can be coupled to the radio frequency transceiver circuit 100 (FIG. 6) using a transmission line 104. For example, the positive transmission line conductor 106 can be coupled to the positive antenna feed terminal 110 and the ground transmission line conductor 108 can be coupled to the ground antenna feed terminal 112.

A diagram of the wires of the transmission line 104 coupled to the feed terminals 110 and 112 of the antenna element L1 In the illustrative configuration of 7, the antenna resonating element L2 can be indirectly fed. If desired, the antenna resonating element L2 can be directly fed by coupling the transmission line 104 across the terminal pair in the element L2. The inter-feed configuration for the loop antenna structure 102 can sometimes be described herein as an example. However, this is merely illustrative. In general, any suitable feed configuration can be used for the feed antenna 102 if desired.

The loop antenna structure 102 can be formed using a conductive antenna resonating element structure such as a metal trace on a dielectric carrier. The dielectric carrier can be formed from glass, ceramic, plastic or other dielectric materials. As an example, the dielectric carrier can be formed from a plastic support structure. If desired, the plastic support structure can be formed from a speaker enclosure housing that acts as a resonant cavity for the speaker driver.

The electrically conductive structures forming the loop antenna structure 102 can include wires, metal foils, conductive traces on a printed circuit board, portions of the electrically conductive housing structure such as conductive housing walls and electrically conductive inner frame structures, and other electrically conductive structures.

As shown in FIG. 7, the antenna resonating element L2 can have a longitudinal axis such as the axis 120. The axis 120 can sometimes be referred to as the longitudinal axis of the annular distributed loop antenna structure 102. The loop antenna structure 102 can have a resonant element conductive structure that is deployed ("distributed") along the longitudinal axis 120 of the ring L2.

The electrically conductive structure 116 in the resonant element ring L2 of the antenna structure 102 can include a conductor strip or sheet having a first dimension about the longitudinal axis 120 and a second dimension extending along the length of the longitudinal axis 120 (ie, , width W). The electrically conductive structure 116 can be about the axis 120. During operation, the antenna current may flow within the strip of electrically conductive material surrounding the ring L2 of the axis 120. In effect, the electrically conductive material 116 will form an annular wide conductor strip characterized by a perimeter P. The antenna current flowing in loop L2 tends to circumscribe longitudinal axis 120. When assembled within the device 10, the longitudinal axis 120 of the antenna element L2 can extend parallel to the adjacent edge of the housing 12 in the electronic device 10 (as an example).

It may be necessary to form a distributed loop antenna junction from a conductive structure exhibiting a relatively small size P Structure 102. In a loop that does not break along the perimeter P, the antenna can resonate at a signal frequency at which the signal has a wavelength approximately equal to P. In a compact structure having an unbroken ring shape, the frequency of the communication band covered by the antenna loop L2 may thus tend to be high. Capacitor C can be introduced into antenna loop L2 by incorporating a gap or other capacitance generating structure into the loop. Conductive material 116 can also be configured to form one or more inductor-like paths to introduce inductance L into antenna loop L2. Material 116 can, for example, be configured to create a segment of conductive material 116 that acts as an inductance generating wire within ring L2. In the case where the capacitance C and the inductance L exist within the perimeter of the loop antenna element L2, the resonant frequency of the antenna element L2 can be reduced to the desired operating frequency without increasing the value of the perimeter P.

FIG. 8 is a graph plotting antenna performance (standing wave ratio) for an antenna structure such as antenna structure 102 of FIG. 7 as a function of operating frequency. In the example of FIG. 8, antenna structure 102 has been configured to resonate at a lower frequency band LB and a higher frequency band HB. Communication bands LB and HB may be cellular telephone bands, satellite navigation system bands, regional network bands, and/or other suitable communication bands. As an example, the low band LB can be associated with a 2.4 GHz wireless local area network band, and the high band HB can be associated with a 5 GHz wireless area network band (as an example).

The dashed curve 122 of FIG. 8 corresponds to the effect of the loop antenna resonating element L1 on the performance of the antenna structure 102. The virtual point curve 124 corresponds to the effect of the loop antenna resonating element L2 on the performance of the antenna structure 102.

During operation, both elements L1 and L2 have an effect on the overall performance of the antenna structure 102 represented by curve 126. At lower frequencies, such as frequencies in the low frequency band LB, the antenna resonating element L2 acts as the primary radiating element in the structure 102, and the antenna resonating element L1 acts as the secondary radiating element in the structure 102. At a higher frequency, such as the frequency in the high frequency band HB, the antenna resonating element L1 acts as the primary radiating element in the antenna structure 102 and the antenna resonating element L2 acts as a secondary radiating element.

The dielectric carrier for the antenna structure 102 can be formed from plastic. As an example, hollow The plastic structure can be used to serve as a carrier for the antenna structure 102. If desired, a hollow plastic antenna carrier structure can be used to form a speaker enclosure (sometimes referred to as a speaker enclosure). The speaker driver can be mounted in the speaker box to produce sound.

Figure 9 is a diagram of an illustrative speaker driver. As shown in FIG. 9, the speaker driver 128 can have a speaker driver housing such as one of the housings 130. Housing 130 can be formed from plastic, metal or other suitable material. An opening, such as speaker driver 埠 132, may be formed in housing 130 to allow sound to exit drive 128.

The speaker driver 128 can have electrical terminals such as terminals 134 and 136. Electrical wires such as wires 138 and 140 can be coupled to terminals 134 and 136. For example, wire 138 can be used to couple one of the outputs of audio amplifier 142 to terminal 134, and wire 140 can be used to couple the other of the outputs of audio amplifier 142 to terminal 136. During operation, audio amplifier 142 can receive an audio signal (e.g., from control circuit 29) via input 144 and can drive a corresponding analog audio signal to lines 138 and 140. The speaker driver 128 can respond by creating a sound that exits the driver 128 via the bore 132.

It may be desirable to insulate the conductive portion of the speaker driver 128 to help ensure that the antenna current does not flow through the speaker driver 128. If the speaker driver 128 is not insulated, the speaker driver 128 may be coupled to the antenna structure 102, which may adversely affect antenna performance.

As shown in the cross-sectional side view of FIG. 10, the speaker driver 128 can have a coating such as a coating 146 on the housing 130. Portion 130 or portions of housing 130 may be formed from a conductive material such as metal. Coating 146 can be formed from a plastic or other insulating material. As shown in FIG. 10, the coating 146 can cover the potentially conductive portions of the speaker driver 128, such as the housing 130 and the terminals 134 and 136, thereby helping to ensure that the speaker driver 128 is electrically insulated from the surrounding structure. Insulating coating 146 can be used to help allow speaker driver 128 to electrically float relative to the ground (and antenna structure 102), and thereby minimize coupling to antenna structure 102.

11 is an illustrative dielectric carrier that can serve as an antenna carrier for the conductive structure of the antenna structure 102 and as a type of speaker housing for the speaker driver 128. Top view. As shown in FIG. 11, the dielectric carrier 150 can have an elongated shape that extends along the longitudinal axis 120. Conductive structures for the antenna structure 102 can be formed in regions 154 and 152. For example, conductive structure 116 associated with antenna resonating element ring L2 can be formed in region 152, and conductive structure 114 associated with antenna resonating element ring L1 can be formed in region 154. The dielectric carrier 150 can have a hollow interior that acts as an acoustic cavity for the speaker. The speaker driver 128 can be mounted within the hollow interior of the carrier 150 below the ring element L1. The distributed loop design of FIG. 11 can help ensure that the electric field strength near the speaker driver 128 is minimized during operation of the antenna structure 102, thereby minimizing electrical coupling between the antenna structure 102 and the speaker driver 128.

12 is a perspective view showing the antenna structure 102 for the manner in which the conductive structures of the antenna structure 102 can be formed on and around the speaker housing or other dielectric carrier 150. As shown in FIG. 12, the antenna resonating element ring L1 may be formed from the metal trace 114 on the upper surface of the speaker housing 150 (or other dielectric carrier). The antenna resonating element ring L2 can be formed on the surface of the speaker housing 150 from a strip of metal traces 116 having a width W. During operation, antenna current may flow in loop L2, such as currents 164 and 166.

If desired, the antenna resonating element loop trace 114 can be mounted in a grounded cavity (i.e., the loop L1 can be mounted in a cavity-based antenna environment). For example, metal traces may be formed on the sidewalls of the carrier 150 in front of, behind, side, and underside of the traces 114 (see, for example, the sidewalls 115 of FIG. 12). By placing the traces 114 within the antenna cavity 115, the loop antenna resonating elements can be decoupled from the surrounding metal structures in the device 10 (i.e., the effectiveness of the loop antenna L1 will not be between the carrier 150 and the nearby conductive structures). Due to the variation in the distance isolated by the antenna cavity 115).

A gap may be formed between the opposing edges 160 and 162 of the trace 116 on the upper surface of the outer casing 150. The layout of this gap can be configured to produce the desired value for one of the capacitors C (Fig. 7). For example, if a larger value of C is desired, edges 160 and 162 may be placed closer together and/or edge 160 may be implemented using a meandering pattern that maximizes the length of edges 160 and 162. And 162 along the path.

Trace 116 may form a strip of material having a width W about axis 120 on the surface of outer casing 150. The inductance L can be generated by forming an opening 168 in a portion of the trace 116, such as portion 116E. The opening 168 can have the shape of a slot or other opening that extends parallel to each other, resulting in a narrow metal line segment, such as segment 172, through which the antenna current 166 flows. Segment 172 can be relatively long and thin, and thus can act as an inductive element. Segment 172 can collectively generate inductance L in loop L2.

The housing 150 can include a speaker driver 128. To ensure that sound can exit the housing 150 when the audio is being played by the speaker driver 128, the housing 150 can be provided with an opening such as the speaker housing opening 170. The opening 170 may be formed in a circular hole shape, an elliptical hole shape, a rectangular groove shape, or an opening of another shape. The outer casing 150 may have a wall having a thickness of 0.2 mm to 2 mm (as an example). The rectangular slot opening 170 may have a length of 3 mm to 4 mm or 1 mm to 8 mm and a width of 0.2 mm to 1 mm (as an example). The length of the segment 172 may be 3 mm to 4 mm or 1 mm to 8 mm, and the width may be 0.2 mm to 1 mm (as an example). As shown in FIG. 12, the housing opening 170 and the metal trace opening 168 can overlap each other (eg, the opening 168 can be aligned with the opening 170 and can be large enough to ensure that portions of the metal trace 116 do not block the housing opening 170) . This allows the sound to leave the hollow interior of the outer casing 150 when the speaker driver 128 is used.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional side view showing a portion of an electronic device 10 in which the antenna structure 102 can be mounted along the edge of the housing 12. As shown in FIG. 13, electronic device 10 can have a display such as display 14 having an associated display module 176 and display cover layer 174. The display module 176 can be a liquid crystal display module, an organic light emitting diode display, or other suitable display for generating images for a user. The display cover layer 174 can be a clear glass sheet, a clear plastic layer, or other transparent member. Display cover layer 174 can form part of display module 176 if desired.

In the inactive display border area IA, the inner surface of the display cover layer 174 can be painted A black ink layer or other opaque mask layer 178 is provided to hide the internal device structure from view by the user. The antenna structure 102 can be mounted inside the housing 12 below the opaque mask layer 178. During operation, antenna signals may be transmitted and received via portions 182 of display cover layer 174 and, if desired, via the dielectric portion of housing 12.

The housing 12 in the configuration of Figure 13 can be formed from a metal. The opening 180 in the housing 12 can act as a speaker opening. The opening 170 in the speaker housing 150 and the opening 168 in the loop antenna trace 116 can be aligned with the housing opening 180. During operation of the speaker driver 128, sound may exit the interior of the speaker enclosure 150 via the openings 170, 168, and 180.

14 is a perspective view of the outer portion of device 10 in the vicinity of speaker opening 180. The speaker opening 180 can be organized as an array of columns and rows (as an example). Each row of speaker openings 180 in device 10 of FIG. 14 can be aligned with a respective one of slotted trace opening 168 and housing opening 170 of FIG.

The housing speaker opening 180 can have other shapes if desired. As shown in FIG. 15, for example, the speaker opening 180 may have a rectangular groove shape.

16 is a cross-sectional side view of device 10 showing how antenna structure 102 can have a non-rectangular cross-sectional shape. Antenna structure 102 can be formed, for example, from trace 116 on a speaker housing or other dielectric carrier 150 having curved walls. The curved wall 182 of the speaker housing 150 can have one of the curved shapes that match the wall portion 184 of the electronics housing 12.

A conductive structure, such as conductive structure 186, can be used to electrically couple trace 116 to metal housing 12. When the trace 116 is short-circuited to the housing 12 in this manner, a portion of the loop antenna current in the loop L2 can pass through the housing 12 parallel to the underlying antenna trace 116, or some traces 116 can be omitted if desired, such that All of the loop antenna currents in one of the loops L2 pass through the housing 12 parallel to the outer casing 150. Structure 186 can be formed from metal tape, metal coatings, conductive adhesives, solder, solder, fasteners such as screws, or other electrically conductive structures.

17 is a device in a configuration in which the dielectric carrier 150 (eg, speaker housing) in the antenna structure 102 has been provided with a recess such as a recess 188 to receive the edge 190 of the display structure 176. A cross-sectional side view of 10. If desired, the antenna structure 102 can have other shapes to accommodate other electrical or mechanical components in the interior portion of the device 10.

According to an embodiment, an antenna is provided that includes a hollow speaker housing and a loop antenna resonating element that surrounds the hollow speaker housing.

According to another embodiment, the antenna further includes a speaker driver in the hollow speaker housing.

According to another embodiment, the antenna further includes an opening in the hollow speaker housing.

In accordance with another embodiment, the loop antenna resonating element has an opening that overlaps the openings in the hollow speaker housing.

In accordance with another embodiment, the antenna further includes an indirect antenna feed element configured to feed the antenna by electromagnetic coupling to the loop antenna resonating element.

In accordance with another embodiment, the loop antenna resonating element includes a metal trace forming a ring, the antenna further including a capacitor and an inductor interposed in the loop.

In accordance with another embodiment, the loop antenna resonating element includes metal segments separated by openings in the loop antenna resonating element, and wherein the metal segments collectively provide the inductance.

In accordance with another embodiment, the hollow speaker enclosure has an opening that is aligned with the openings in the loop antenna resonating element.

According to another embodiment, the metal trace is formed on a surface of one of the hollow speaker housings.

In accordance with another embodiment, the antenna further includes an additional loop antenna resonating element having one of the antenna feed terminals on the hollow speaker housing, and a speaker driver within the hollow speaker housing below the additional loop antenna resonating element .

According to an embodiment, an electronic device is provided that includes a metal housing having a speaker opening and an antenna having a loop antenna resonating element surrounding a speaker housing The structure wherein the speaker housing has an opening that is aligned with the speaker openings in the metal housing.

According to another embodiment, the loop antenna resonating element has an opening aligned with the speaker openings.

In accordance with another embodiment, the loop antenna resonating element includes a line of metal traces surrounding at least some of the speaker housing.

In accordance with another embodiment, a segment of the metal traces interposed between the openings in the loop antenna resonating element is configured to form an inductance in the loop antenna resonating element.

In accordance with another embodiment, the electronic device further includes a conductive material that electrically couples the metal traces to the metal housing.

In accordance with another embodiment, the electronic device further includes a speaker driver in the speaker housing.

In accordance with another embodiment, the speaker driver has an insulative coating and is electrically floating relative to the antenna structures.

According to an embodiment, an apparatus is provided comprising: an elongated hollow plastic speaker housing extending along a longitudinal axis; a speaker driver within the hollow speaker housing; and a metal structure on the hollow plastic speaker housing, Wherein the metal structures are configured to form a distributed loop antenna having a first loop antenna resonating element and a second loop antenna resonating element, wherein the first loop antenna resonating element resonates the second loop antenna The component is indirectly fed, and wherein the second loop antenna resonating element has a width and extends around the longitudinal axis.

In accordance with another embodiment, the hollow plastic speaker housing has a speaker housing opening, the apparatus further including an opening in the metal structure that overlaps the speaker housing openings, wherein the segments of the metal structures are formed in the metal structures Between the openings, and wherein the segments of the metal structures are common to the second loop antenna resonating element Form an inductor.

In accordance with another embodiment, the apparatus further includes a metal electronics housing wall having openings aligned with the speaker housing openings.

The foregoing is only illustrative of the principles of the invention, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

10‧‧‧Electronic devices/devices

12‧‧‧Shell/Metal Housing

14‧‧‧ display

102‧‧‧Antenna structure/loop antenna structure/feed antenna/distributed loop antenna structure

116‧‧‧Conductor/Conductive Structure/Conductive Material/Metal Trace/Trace/Ring Antenna Trace

128‧‧‧Speaker Driver/Driver

150‧‧‧Dielectric carrier/housing/speaker housing

170‧‧‧Speaker housing opening / rectangular slot opening / housing opening / opening

174‧‧‧Display cover

176‧‧‧Display Module/Display Structure

178‧‧‧Opacity mask

180‧‧‧ Opening / housing opening / speaker opening / housing speaker opening

182‧‧‧ Part / curved wall

IA‧‧‧Inactive Display Border Area

Claims (16)

An antenna comprising: a hollow speaker enclosure having first and second opposing sides; a loop antenna resonating element surrounding the hollow speaker enclosure such that one of the loop antenna resonating components a portion is adjacent to the first side of the hollow speaker housing and a second portion of the loop antenna resonating element is adjacent to the second side of the hollow speaker housing; and a plurality of openings in the hollow speaker housing, wherein the The loop antenna resonating element has a plurality of openings aligned with the plurality of openings in the hollow speaker housing. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising a speaker driver in the hollow speaker housing. The antenna of claim 2, further comprising an indirect antenna feed element configured to feed the antenna by electromagnetic coupling to the loop antenna resonating element. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the loop antenna resonating element comprises a metal trace forming a ring, the antenna further comprising a capacitor and an inductor inserted in the loop. The antenna of claim 4, wherein the loop antenna resonating element comprises a metal segment separated by an opening in the loop antenna resonating element, and wherein the metal segments collectively provide the inductance. The antenna of claim 5, wherein the metal trace is formed on a surface of the hollow speaker housing. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising: an additional loop antenna resonating element on the hollow speaker housing having an antenna feed terminal; A speaker driver within the hollow speaker housing is located below the additional loop antenna resonating element. An electronic device comprising: a housing having a plurality of speaker openings; a speaker housing extending along a longitudinal axis, wherein the longitudinal axis has first and second opposing sides; and an antenna structure Having a loop antenna resonating element surrounding one of the speaker housings such that the loop antenna resonating element has a first portion on the first side of the longitudinal axis and a second portion on the second side of the longitudinal axis, Wherein the speaker enclosure has an opening aligned with the plurality of speaker openings in the metal housing and the loop antenna resonating element has a plurality of openings aligned with the plurality of speaker openings in the metal housing. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the loop antenna resonating element comprises a line of metal traces surrounding at least some of the speaker housing. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the segments of the metal traces interposed between the openings in the loop antenna resonating element are configured to form an inductance in the loop antenna resonating element. The electronic device of claim 10, further comprising electrically conductive material that electrically couples the metal traces to the metal housing. The electronic device of claim 8, further comprising a speaker driver in the speaker housing. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the speaker driver has an insulative coating and is electrically floating relative to the antenna structures. An antenna device comprising: an elongated hollow plastic speaker housing extending along a first longitudinal axis; a speaker driver within the hollow speaker housing; a metal structure on the hollow plastic speaker housing, wherein the metal structures are configured to form a distributed loop antenna having one of first and second loop antenna resonating elements, the first loop antenna resonating element using near field electromagnetic Coupling indirectly feeding the second loop antenna resonating element, the second loop antenna resonating element extending around the first longitudinal axis, and the first loop antenna resonating element surrounding one of substantially perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis The two longitudinal axes extend. The device of claim 14, wherein the hollow plastic speaker housing has a speaker housing opening, the apparatus further comprising: an opening in the metal structure overlapping the opening of the speaker housing, wherein a segment of the metal structure is formed on the metal Between the openings in the structure, and wherein the segments of the metal structures together form an inductance in the second loop antenna resonating element. The device of claim 15 further comprising a metal electronics housing wall having openings aligned with the speaker housing openings.